The Uffizi is a great Museum in Florence, Italy. The name literally means "Offices," since the building began as offices for the great banking masters of Firenze, the Medici. The Medici were patrons of many Renaissance artists, making Florence a centre of great art in Italy. They initially held many of their artwork in the Uffizi, and as their collection grew, the building turned into private Museum. The collection was eventually given to the Tuscan state by the last Medici heiress, with the stipulation that the collection not be sold.
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The Uffizi are a series of hallways with different rooms (Salas) that were Offices. The first long hallway and side offices hold Renaissance paintings:
Here's the Famous Botticelli painting, the Birth of the Sexy Clam:
I did a flattening of the picture with my camera:
They have a 3D version of it too, for the young kids:
There are some middle age artwork, but most of the art is from the Medici's Renaissance patronage:
Here's a sad Jesus:
At the north end of the Offices, you can see the Arno river which cuts through Firenze!
Bankruptcy was invented on the bridge, where if a money changer could not pay his debts, soldiers would break (rotto) his sales table (banco).
With a broken table, the bankrupt vendor could not sell anything, presumably because tables were very hard to get.
Here's a view of some of the adjacent bridges:
Most of the interesting sights in Florence are south of the river, but there are some interesting things north of the river.
Let the day go by...
Anyways back to the Uffici, continuing down the second hallway around the bend... There are sculptures in this hall...
This is a Satyr that was colored purple to indicate his skin was flayed off by Ramsay Snow.
Here is a Roman funeral stone... written in Greek about Dionysus I guess. The fighting roosters were a common funeral symbol.
Here's a cute guy:
This looks like Raphael style painting, with it's bright colors. I'm not sure who made it though...
There are some large rooms here with sculptures, but by now my art viewing capacity was fully drained.
Here's a good one, I call Snake Orgy:
When entering the Uffizi you go up some stairs, and you will see some sculptures too... Who's a good boy?
And this dog be-ith a good boy!
Downstairs you can see some foreign art, e.g. non-Italian art-- not non-American art, my fellow Yankees! Here's creepy floating babies:
In the Spanish room, you can see an El Greco painting, with his elongated style:
But wait... Wasn't El Greco Greek??? Why was he in the Spanish room? Here's a de Goya:
Velasquez I believe:
Here's some fun ones, of creepy pig men:
This is from Nicola Van Houbraken, my new favourite artist, depicting a renaissance-era Sauce Magnusson visiting Italy:
Another Game of Thrones reference:
Chubby Aristocratic Toddler Loves his Birdie to Death:
Smack that demon!
The head of a Gorgon:
This guy looks like he's getting goosed by his buddy behind him:
Once you're done with the Uffizi, south of it you can see the Piazza della Signoria. Here you can see the old town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), with its prominent tower:
Inside the Plaza there are some famous statues to the right of the Old Palace:
You can see the Medici Lions, as well as "Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus:"
There's the Rape of the Sabine Women and Hercules beating the Centaur Nessus:
I like the Hercules beating the Centaur Nessus:
Perseus with the Head of Medusa. Why were they so cruel to poor Medusa?
Once you're done with the Offices, have some delicious Sesame Gelato!
Well I hope you enjoyed our trip to the Offices, or Uffizi! Next week I will post about the magnificent Duomo in Florence, where you can actually climb to the top of the Domed Basilica!
Here's a good one:
Planning a trip to Italy? Check out my Supreme Molto Fantastico Guide to Italy!
This prima-donna was the artist himself:
Then you can see the tribune room- this was the original spectacular room with the most important art the Medicis wanted to show off. Don't wait in line! There are multiple viewing areas if you walk around, which people don't realize are there so you don't always have a line.
Here's a video I made of the Tribuna while people complained behind me:
The Ponte Veccio was used by the Medicis to walk between their Palace, the Gov't House and the Offices without having to expose themselves to the stinky Proles who carry diseases such as poverty and ignorance.
The Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by the retreating Germans in 1944, even though every other bridge in Florence was, presumably on Hitler's personal orders. Still, on balance, Hitler was a dick though.
Florence is a sort of quiet smaller town actually....
It's nice to just walk around and enjoy the sights...
This is another Satyr's head:
When entering the Uffizi you go up some stairs, and you will see some sculptures too... Who's a good boy?
A dead bird:
Once you're done with the Uffizi, south of it you can see the Piazza della Signoria. Here you can see the old town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), with its prominent tower:
Post by Sauce Magnusson.
Puppy Tax for Reddit:
If you would like to see more of my posts on Italy, you can see them on my Supreme Molto Fantastico Guide to Italy.
Love to explore more interesting travel posts like this one.
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